In my last blog I wrote about competitive change and its effects on our Industry.  This profound topic of change permeates all aspects of business.  This blog will focus on evolving leadership methods.  Effective leadership can steer a company toward a successful future.  It can also keep its workers interested and invested in the health, profitability and the direction of the Company.

So where does great leadership start?  Many creative and sustainable leadership qualities are found in entrepreneurial companies.  In an effort to follow their lead, other enterprises have taken these proven qualities and sliced, diced and repackaged them. The goal was to drive creativity and force change—just like successful entrepreneurs have done throughout history. This process and the resulting adaptations have helped individuals and departments remain energized by challenging convention internally and competition externally.

I believe one of my most important duties as a CEO is to manage change on a wide range of fronts:  competition, technology and staffing. Internally, I know I must continually challenge weaknesses and not be satisfied with the status quo. Today, it is more necessary that ever to challenge convention. The pace of technology, margin-challenged competition, plus management and workforce issues means constantly examining the horizon for signs of brewing change that demand creative solutions.  In effect, we must react to external changes by implementing internal ones. 

It is no surprise that leadership can be complicated. Driving a company like ours requires great inner strength, discipline and flexibility. We must look at options we may have rejected or not considered in the past.  And, that means changing old behaviors, starting at the top. For when leadership begins to change its’ way of thinking, the rest of the Organization finds it easier to follow. 

Like many others in our Industry, as I grew my business I enjoyed certain perks.  Most important of all might be just doing things “my way.” For instance, in the past we dictated actions. Today, we model behaviors. The reputation of my Company is molded by me. I can tell my staff about the way I want them to interact with our customers and hope for the best, or, I can demonstrate a posture of assistance and caring that is so much easier to emulate.

Don’t get me wrong, we are still innovators and market leaders, but the way we as a Company, and me as its’ leader now make decisions is both constrained and energized by the rapid role of change.   For this “Chief Change Manager”, self-awareness is the requisite skill. Being unprepared or having a negative perspective around change will obscure the details and only make decision making more difficult. Get the help you need to change your paradigm or hire the talent you need to complement your own.  Change is here to stay!  Be ready for it.  Any comments out there?

Technology integration, into our products and our operations, is a vital component to the future health of almost any organization today. Glass is a vital and burgeoning Industry with diverse opportunities for new products and whole new businesses.

Technology helps me run a best practices company. We are always looking for creative applications for glass and related materials. Our capital appropriations practices for equipment and tools are justified by an ability to outdeliver our competitors on both single source capabilities and for the impeccable quality and precision for which we have earned a well deserved reputation.

A regular and perceptive reading of trends will help prevent a business from becoming too complacent. In many ways, technology has helped to level the playing field in other Industries with adverse effects on non-tech savvy competitors. By not refreshing the product and services offering, these businesses become more and more alike with little more to differentiate them than price.

With change taking place inside and outside of our businesses at lightning speed, having a strategy for keeping up to date is important. Since I am in my fourth decade in the glass business, it goes with little explanation that I possess a broad perspective. Yet, I make it a point to religiously keep current with most Industry Journals and online publications as well as those of our primary customers.

I also attend various Industry events which allows me to supplement my regular check-in calls to colleagues in other companies with these chance face-to-face meetings in restaurants and on the tradeshow floor. Keeping informed provides a great perspective when making important decisions about the future of your operations.

New product innovations from some of the leading research companies in our Industry hold the promise for new business opportunities and new markets to serve. Innovative surface materials, photovoltaic glass, plus new ideas in display and design utilizing Architectural Decorative Glass are just a few examples of items that can bring distinction to a creative organization.

One of the key reasons for maintaining a technology edge is to stay ahead of the competition, to do something new, innovative or simply recognizable. In today’s excess capacity economy,  “follower” competitors are losing ground. And, it isn’t just limited to technology matters. If you have competitors, and most all of us do, the ones who are still standing today can be characterized as aggressive, innovative and well prepared. For the most part, the weak have already fallen by the wayside.

At the same time that competitors have gotten better, customers have gotten smarter. They have more choices than ever before, have many more information sources and, take longer to make decisions. These smart buyers make intelligent decisions – they demand the newest products and innovations, the most features and all at the best price.

For me, this discussion always comes back to marketing. You can be innovative, offer competitive prices and consistently deliver on time. But, what if no one knows about you? Don’t be the best kept secret in your market.

To be prepared to get your fair share, you need a clear business plan, innovations that distinguish you from others in your business, a competent workforce, efficient production abilities, and a communication plan to stimulate the market and win the sale.

Together the people, the products and the direction of our Industry provides a progressive platform for expression and healthy growth. Continuing to invest in our businesses and in our Industry is a good bet.

Thank you for your interest in my blog, I am eager for your feedback as well as the opportunity to build new business relationships. Please contact me at polishededges@galaxycustom.com

Galaxy Glass & Stone^® has a worldwide reputation as an industry leader in Architectural Decorative Glass. With over 32-years of success in this field I offer my expertise to the professional community as a content expert on any glass related matter. My future blog postings chronicle perspectives on a range of issues of a personal and professional nature that I believe will be of interest to members of the glass industry.